[News] Appeal for Libre and Linux-based Neuros OSD - Linux

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The Neuros OSD
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| What attracts me to the project is that I can use it as a really, really
| cheap MythTV frontend. This is not at all one of ...

[News] Appeal for Libre and Linux-based Neuros OSD

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The Neuros OSD

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| What attracts me to the project is that I can use it as a really, really
| cheap MythTV frontend. This is not at all one of the intended uses of the
| product as conceived by Neuros Technology, but they will get a sale from me
| just because of that. And right now its MythTV support comes down to the
| fact that MythTV and the Neuros OSD both speak uPNP. But if I wanted to, I
| could write code and load it onto the OSD that would access my MythTV
| recordings as seamlessly as if it had been designed for just that purpose.
| Then I can put this code online and even more people might buy an OSD just
| for that purpose. Afterall, the Neuros OSD is selling for $179 and it would
| cost me >$400 to create a suitable MythTV front end.
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| Overall I was pretty impressed with this device. Easy setup, easy use, and
| performance exactly as advertised. If you're looking for a low-cost and
| lightweight media center to stream those Divx AVI files you keep downloading
| and play them on your TV, this device will certainly fulfill your needs. Â*
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| Need some helpful suggestions of what kind of things you can do with a Neuros
| OSD? How about getting the OSD to play nicely with Tivo? Neuros is even
| offering a cash bounty for the folks who get this done. Â*
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| Surprisingly one of the media establishment's darling devices at the 2008
| Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is fully open, runs Linux and invites
| hacking - er, customization. The device is the Neuros OSD, a $200 video
| recorder that allows you to archive, organize and play back all of your video
| media, such as live television, DVDs, VHS tapes, etc. The acronym "OSD"
| stands for "open source device". Hot dog, this is our kind of gadget! Â* Â*
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| The OSD has not only open hardware, but also open software: it is based on
| the Linux operating system. Neuros Technology encourages hacking of the
| device; it has contests with cash rewards for new applications for the OSD.
| One winner, for instance, designed a program that lets people use it to watch
| YouTube on their televisions. Â* Â*
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| The first two observations I made when I opened my Neuros OSD were that the
| unit was a lot smaller than I was expecting (about five and a half inches by
| five and a half inches in size) and that it looked nice. This was no flat
| looking boxy apparatus, nor was it a standard component. It was curved, it
| was sleek, black and more aerodynamic than any other DVR Iâ€™ve come across. Â* Â*
|
| I liked the size and the look immediately. Not only was this thing slick
| looking, but I could easily grab the RCA cables and the Neuros and bring it
| over to a friends house to watch whatever Iâ€™d recorded. Â*
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| Neuros Technology did it again: one more of their interesting media products
| hits the market, and this time it uses Linux. We used the Neuros OSD this
| past week and here's what we think about it. Â*
|
| [...]
|
| Overall, Neuros seems to get it. Extensibility, plus a powerful product.
| Hopefully HD abilities and failing that, S-Video out, will be available on
| the next major revision of the product. Sure, it doesn't feel as cool as an
| AppleTV, but it does so much more! Â*
|
| Rating: 8/10
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| Neuros is certainly not the only ones bringing net video to the TV, but we
| are probably the only CE company doing it with open source. Nowhere is the
| intersection between free software and free speech more obvious. If the
| connection between the internet and the TV falls into the hands of a
| proprietary vendor's closed solution, then the hard won free speech victory
| of he internet will fall far short of its ultimate potential. Â* Â*
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| Enthusiasts from Something Awful forum were annoyed by the general
| lack of third party movie support for Apple's latest product, Apple
| TV - and went on to create something useful with it. Awkward and
| Sabretooth modified Apple's little box and got it working with
| Xvid files with no problems.
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| Neuros is a device manufacturer with a simple focus: it creates devices that
| let you record video from almost any source into a digital format (MPEG-4)
| that can then be played on almost any device. The trick: its devices connect
| to your video output sources (VCR, DVD player, etc.) using standard analog
| RCA cables, avoiding digital copy-protection technologies like HDCP or CSS. Â* Â*
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